ANNOUNCER:
Now, the VOA Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.
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We present the short story "Doctor Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Here is Barbara Klein with the story.
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STORYTELLER:
![Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090507090523im_/http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/images/Nathaniel_Hawthorne_w_13mar.jpg) |
Nathaniel Hawthorne |
That very unusual man, old Doctor Heidegger, once
invited four friends to meet him in his office. There were three white-bearded
gentlemen, Mister Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mister Gascoigne. And,
there was a thin old lady whose husband had died, so she was called the Widow
Wycherly. They
were all sad old creatures who had been unfortunate in life. As a young man, Mister
Medbourne had lost all his money in a badly planned business deal. Colonel
Killigrew had wasted his best years and health enjoying the pleasures of women
and drink. Mister Gascoigne was a ruined politician with an evil past.
As
for the Widow Wycherly, tradition tells us that she was once a great beauty.
But shocking stories about her past had led the people of the town to reject
her. So, she lived very much alone.
It is worth stating that each of these
three men were early lovers of the Widow Wycherly. And they had once been on
the point of killing each other over her.
"My dear old friends," said Doctor Heidegger,
"I would like your help in one of my little experiments." He motioned for them
to sit down.
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Doctor
Heidegger's office was a very strange place. The dark room was filled with
books, cobwebs, and dust. An old mirror hanging between two bookcases was said
to show the ghosts of all the doctor's dead patients.
On another
wall hung a painting of the young woman Doctor Heidegger was to have married
long ago. But she died the night before
their wedding after drinking one of the doctor's medicines. The most mysterious
object in the room was a large book covered in black leather. It was said to be
a book of magic.
On
the summer afternoon of our story, a black table stood in the middle of the
room. On it was a beautiful cut-glass vase. Four glasses were also on the
table.
Doctor Heidegger was known for his
unusual experiments. But his four guests did not expect anything very
interesting.
The doctor picked up his black
leather book of magic. From its pages he removed a dried-up old rose.
"This
rose," said the doctor, "was given to me fifty-five years ago by Sylvia Ward,
whose painting hangs on this wall. I was to wear it at our wedding. Would you
think it possible that this ancient rose could ever bloom again?"
"Nonsense!"
said the Widow Wycherly with a toss of her head. "You might as well ask if an
old woman's lined face could ever bloom again."
"See!"
answered Doctor Heidegger.
He
reached for the vase and threw the dried rose into the water it contained. Soon,
a change began to appear. The crushed and dried petals moved and slowly turned
from brown to red. And there was the rose of half a century looking as fresh as
when Sylvia Ward had first given it to her lover.
"That is a very pretty
trick," said the doctor's friends. "What is the secret?"
"Did you ever hear of the Fountain of
Youth?" asked Doctor Heidegger. "The Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon went in
search of it centuries ago. But he was not looking in the right place. If I am
rightly informed, the famous Fountain of Youth is in southern Florida. A friend
of mine has sent me the water you see in the vase."
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The doctor filled the four glasses with water from the
Fountain of Youth. The liquid produced
little bubbles that rose up to the silvery surface. The old guests agreed to
drink the water, although they did not believe in its power.
"Before
you drink, my friends," the doctor said, "you should draw up a few general
rules as guidance before you pass a second time through the dangers of youth.
You have had a lifetime of experience to direct you. Think what a shame it
would be if the wisdom of your experiences did not act as a guide and teacher."
The doctor's four friends answered him with a laugh. The
idea that they would ever repeat the mistakes of their youth was very funny.
"Drink, then," said the doctor. "I am happy that I have
so well chosen the subjects of my experiment."
They
raised the glasses to their lips. If the liquid really was magical, it could
not have been given to four human beings who needed it more. They seemed as
though they had never known youth or pleasure. They looked like they had always
been the weak, unhappy creatures who were bent over the doctor's table.
They drank
the water.
There
was an almost immediate improvement among the guests. A cheerful glow like
sunshine brightened their faces. They looked at one another imagining that some
magic power had really started to smooth the lines on their faces.
"Quick!
Give us more of this wondrous water!" they cried. "We are younger, but we are
still too old!"
"Patience!"
said Doctor Heidegger who watched the experiment with scientific coolness. "You
have been a long time growing old. Surely you could wait half an hour to grow
young!"
Again he filled their glasses. The four
guests drank the liquid in one swallow. As the liquid passed down their throats
it seemed to change their whole systems. Their eyes grew clear and bright.
Their hair turned from silver to darker shades.
"My
dear widow, you are lovely!" cried Colonel Killigrew, who watched as the signs
of age disappeared from her face.
The
widow ran to the mirror.
The three men started to behave in such a way that
proved the magic of the Fountain of Youth's water.
Mister
Gascoigne's mind turned to political topics. He talked about nationalism and
the rights of the people. He also told secrets softly to himself.
All
this time Colonel Killigrew had been shouting out happy drinking songs while
his eyes turned towards the curvy body of the Widow Wycherly.
Mister Medbourne was adding dollars and cents to pay
for a proposed project. It would supply
the East Indies with ice by linking a team of whales to the polar icebergs.
As
for the Widow Wycherly, she stood in front of the mirror greeting her image as
a friend she loved better than anything in the world.
"My
dear old doctor," she cried, "please give me another glass!"
The
doctor had already filled the glasses again. It was now near sunset and the
room was darker than ever. But a moon-like light shined from within the vase.
The doctor sat in his chair watching. As the four guests drank their third
glass of water, they were silenced by the expression on the doctor's mysterious
face.
The next moment, the exciting rush of young life shot
through their blood. They were now at the happy height of youth. The endless
cares, sadness, and diseases of age were remembered only as a troubled dream
from which they had awoken.
"We are young!" they cried.
The guests were a
group of happy youngsters almost crazy with energy. They laughed at the
old-fashioned clothing they wore. They
shouted happily and jumped around the room.
The Widow Wycherly - if such a young lady could be
called a widow - ran to the doctor's chair and asked him to dance.
"Please excuse me," answered the
doctor quietly. "My dancing days were over long ago. But these three young men
would be happy to have such a lovely partner."
The men began to argue violently about
who would dance with her. They gathered around the widow, each grabbing for
her.
Yet, by a
strange trick owing to the darkness of the room, the tall mirror is said to
have reflected the forms of three old, gray men competing for a faded, old
woman.
As
the three fought for the woman's favor, they reached violently for each other's
throats. In their struggle, they turned
over the table. The vase broke into a thousand pieces. The Water of Youth flowed in a bright stream
across the floor.
The guests stood still. A strange coldness was slowly
stealing over them all. They looked at Doctor Heidegger who was holding his treasured
rose. The flower was fading and drying up once more.
The guests looked at each other and saw their looks
changing back.
"Are we grown old again so soon?" they cried.
In
truth they had. The Water of Youth had
powers that were only temporary.
"Yes, friends, you are old again," the doctor
said. "And the Water of Youth lies wasted on the ground. But even if it flowed
in a river at my door, I still would not drink it. This is the lesson you have
taught me!"
But the doctor's
four friends had learned no such lesson. They decided at that moment to travel
to Florida and drink morning, noon, and night from the Fountain of Youth.
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ANNOUNCER:
You
have heard the American Story "Doctor Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel
Hawthorne. Your storyteller was Barbara
Klein. This story was adapted into
Special English and produced by Dana Demange. Listen again next week for another American Story
in VOA Special English.